Why Not?
by FictionIsBetter
Summary: What if Severus held his tongue that day in their fifth year? What if they remained best friends, but Lily has just given into James? LE/SS and some LE/JP Rated T for romance. May change


**Author's Note:**

**I don't own the characters yadda-yadda, the great J.K. Rowling does.**

**Also, this is my first fanfic and I would greatly appreciate the reviews!**

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"You've got to be joking!" a stern, quite nasal voice gasped, seeming to think that nearly all the world has lost its sanity.

Wiping a piece of slick, black hair out of the way, looking at the girl with more than a surprised expression...surprised would be quite an understatement, the boy stood out of his chair, nearly knocking it over.

"Oh don't seem so shocked, Sev." the girl said, acting as if the ordeal was merely a simple study session with someone who desperately needed the help. And it was! Only... that someone who needed the help so badly was James Potter.

James Potter. The person who Lily swore to loathe for all eternity. The boy who never failed to annoy her to the edge of her sanity nearly everyday and the only one who could make her think that she would rather feign illness than go to class if only to have a few daylight hours Potter-free.

But there either must have been something going very wrong in Lily's mind or James had come up with a very good plan in order to get the sweet red head to agree to studying with him.

"Lily, you must be out of your mind!" Severus continued, both of his palms pressing on the table, nearly making it shake as he leaned forward.

Taking another book up in her arms, Lily frowned and stood. "Really, its not that big of a deal...And he really needs the help." she said and walked over to the shelves of the library, recalling how James had come to her, begging for the help, nearly to the point of getting down on his knees to grovel. In any other case, she would have said no, right off the bat. But he seemed sincere, and she couldn't turn him down if he needed the help that badly.

"Please, just try to make sense of this, Lily..." he begged, following her. "He asks you for help...He couldn't have asked anyone else?"

Now, Severus Snape's opinions towards a Mr. James Potter weren't exactly well concealed. Though, his true concern was quite the opposite. It wasn't that he feared Lily befriending Potter. No. It was the intentions Potter had. He knew Potter could possibly _try_ to charm his way into Lily's..er...heart, and he feared the worst. He knew Lily was quiet a smart girl, he was sure of it and admired her for it. But...she just may fall.

"Really Lily...think about it, please." he persisted, leaning against the book shelf, watching her beautiful green eyes as they scanned the spines of books.

"He wants to _study_... come on, since when has he ever wanted to study?! He hardly even thinks of doing his homework, let alone lets thinking of studying enter that thick skull of his." he said, making a pretty good point, in his opinion, anyways. He still wondered how this could have possibly happened, and for the first (and only) time, he acknowledged that James had some kind of brain to think. Otherwise, how could he have possibly thought of a plan to weasel his way into some kind of contact with his Li-...Lily.

Perhaps, he thought, Remus (whom he respected, though disliked due to his involvement with the Marauders), came up with the idea, or something... It wouldn't be a bad assumption.

"Severus...Did you hear me?" Lily cut in, breaking his train of thought.

"Hm?... oh..." he said, frowning down at the innocent, dusty books.

"I asked which book you used for the potions assignment." she repeated, seeing as the first time she inquired about the assignment, it seemed to hit a brick wall.

"I didn't use one...well our text, of course, but that's it." he mumbled, his mind still full of a mixture of hatred, envy, and bewildered curiosity.

Her mouth nearly dropped at his answer. How was it that he was simply able to use the text when she was slaving over this assignment, not able to find a single book on the ingredient she needed to research.

"No book?" she asked, and simply received a nod in return, no eye contact even, though it would have been a scowl.

She gave a slight chuckle, taking two rather large, leather bound potions books. "I guess _I_ should be the one looking to _you_ for studying, huh?" she teased and brushed by him, briefly stopping by the table to juggle her books around and manage to sling her bag over her shoulder.

Meanwhile, Severus sighed painfully, watching her leave. It looked like all he could do is sit back and watch. He must be in some kind of parallel universe... Perhaps he will smile and compliment the Marauders today. Fat chance.

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Ah, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Its my first REAL fanfic, and if reviews come in (5 or more!), I will definitely be writing and working on the next chapter and hopefully more to come!

R&R!


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